Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Choosing tomato cages
• Part 2 of 3: Placing the cages
• Part 3 of 3: Caring for caged tomatoes

Caging tomatoes is an effective way to grow the vegetable and enjoy a delicious harvest. You can easily cage your tomatoes by purchasing or making sturdy cages and placing them properly over your plants. Once the cages are in place, you only need to care for the plants occasionally, waiting for them to produce ripe tomatoes.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Choosing tomato cages

1. Use metal tomato cages if you don't have much space in your yard. Metal cages are thin and flexible, allowing you to place them in a small space. This is especially helpful if your tomato plants are planted close together.
2. Get tomato cages that are at least five feet high. These will support most tomato varieties. If you have a smaller tomato variety, such as Santiam or Siberia, you can choose a shorter cage.
3. Choose a cage with a diameter of 30.5-76 cm. If you have a large tomato variety, take a larger diameter cage.
4. Make tomato cages yourself with concrete reinforcement wire. You can find this at the local DIY store. Make sure your hand fits through the gaps between the wire so you can harvest the tomatoes. Cut 0.9 meters of wire for every 0.3 meters of diameter the cage must be. Attach each end of the wire to a stake and push the cage over a tomato plant into the ground.
5. Buy a cage for every tomato plant in your garden. Each tomato plant must have its own cage in which to grow.

Part 2 of 3: Placing the cages

1. Place the cage directly over the tomato plant. Whether the plant is in a pot or in the ground, it should be in the center of the cage. The walls of the cage should be close to the plant, it is normal for some stems and leaves to protrude from the sides of the cage.
   • Avoid damaging the roots of the plant by placing the cage right after a transplant.
2. Push the cage down so that the stakes at the bottom go into the ground. Keep pushing until all stakes are completely in the ground. If you have trouble pushing the cage down, try hitting it lightly with a mallet or mallet.
3. Make sure the cage is sturdy. Place your hand on the cage and gently push and pull it. If it feels like the wind could pull it out of the ground, attach some more stakes to the bottom of the cage and hammer them into the ground for extra support.
   • Attach the stakes to the outside of the cage so they don't damage the roots when you push them into the ground.
4. Place cages over the rest of your tomato plants. Repeat the same process, making sure all cages are firmly in the ground. When planting and cage new tomato plants, try to space them at least four feet apart.

Part 3 of 3: Caring for caged tomatoes

1. Tie young, low-hanging branches of the plants to the cages. This will encourage the plants to grow up into the cage. You can use things like floss or rubber bands to attach the branches to the cage. When attaching the branches, make sure not to tie them too tightly to avoid damaging the plant.
2. Trim dying leaves to save energy for the tomatoes. Pull the leaves off the plant with your hands or use garden shears. Take care of the plants several times a week or whenever you notice wilting foliage.
3. Lift a cage if it falls over and attach it to stakes to support the plant. Push 3 or 4 stakes into the soil around the base of the fallen plant, but be careful not to push the stakes into the roots of the plant. Tie garden wire or iron wire through the cage and attach it to the stakes until the cage is adequately supported.
4. Trim the tomato plants in the fall or when they die. You can recognize that a tomato plant is dead when it turns brown and yellow and starts to droop. Use garden shears to cut away any dead branches around the cage. The tomato cages should remain around the plant until you are done harvesting.
5. Pull the cages out of the ground and store them for next year. Store the cages indoors where they will not be damaged by the elements. Use the cages again next year to grow more tomato plants.